KyouHaba Week 2016
by wirenoose
Summary: Days One, Three and Four Prompts: Flowers, Sports Swap and Fighting
1. Day One: Plants - Green Thumb

First story for KyouHaba week, also self indulgent. Kyoutani has a sister and you can't tell me any different.

Day One - Plants

* * *

Kyoutani's got a green thumb and Yahaba finds out.

* * *

"I'm sorry, do I have the right house?"

Yahaba finds himself staring down at a young girl, she can't be more than ten, who has her hair in twin braids and is wearing an oversized hoodie. There's a bright purple bandaid across her nose and she looks somewhat pissed off. Yahaba thinks it's because he's interrupted her reading, if the book tucked under her arm is any sort of indicator.

"Who are you?" she asks, squaring her shoulders and looking very much like she's prepared to fight Yahaba in the doorway.

"I'm Yahaba Shigeru, I go to school with Kyoutani Kentarou, is this his house? I have his missing school work."

Kyoutani had been out for four days, no one thought anything of it until the second day when he didn't show up for practice. He may not be entirely fond of the team, Oikawa especially, but he always came to practice. He didnt respond to any of Yahaba's texts either. When the school week ended, Iwaizumi had sought Yahaba out after practice. The vice-captain had collected a list of missing assignments for Kyoutani and had planned to deliver them, Yahaba didn't bother asking how Iwaizumi knew where Kyoutani lived, but something had come up with Oikawa.

Despite dating Kyoutani for over a month, Yahaba had never been to his house, so he didn't mind playing delivery boy.

So now Yahaba stands before this young child, already preparing to apologize for getting the wrong address, maybe he'd not listened to Iwaizumi properly.

"Ken? Are you friends with my brother?"

"Brother?" Yahaba nearly drops, Kyoutani had never mentioned a little sister. He straightens up, clearing his throat, "Uh, not really, I really only see him during volleyball practice." If Kyoutani hasn't told Yahaba about a sister, he likely hasn't told his sister about Yahaba.

"Oh, so you're the one with the weird hair, Ken's mentioned you," the little girl giggles before opening the door wider, "Come inside, Ken's out on the balcony, follow me!"

Whatever Yahaba is expecting, it's certainly not what he's seeing. The inside of the apartment is nothing but greenery. Potted plants of all kinds sit on the floor or on the tables, some even hang from the ceiling. There are brilliantly colored flowers blooming and a small mountain of seed packets on the kitchen table.

Kyoutani's little sister grabs his hand and drags him inside, grinning wider at his reaction to show off a missing tooth.

"Kentarou! The boy with the weird hair is here for you!"

The sliding door to the balcony is open, showing Yahaba that there are even more plants out there. Kyoutani is crouched in front of a planter, gently inspecting a leaf on a plant that Yahaba is sure doesn't even grow this time of year. The plant is in bloom, soft petals of various hues of pink, and it looks stunning.

Yahaba has a hard time taking in the fact that Kyoutani's gardening gloves have small embroidered roses around the edges.

"What are you talking ab-" Kyoutani's entire body changes as he sees Yahaba. Where he'd been relaxed with a sated expression, he becomes tense and his face hardens into the bland but defensive look he always wears. That look hasn't been aimed at Yahaba in some time, he's almost forgotten what it feels like. Is it because he's in Kyoutani's house? Or because he's seen Kyoutani gardening?

Yahaba takes a step back.

"What do you want?" Kyoutani spits.

"I have the work you've missed from school," Yahaba manages, pushing down his temper. He and Kyoutani argue, despite dating it's still a work in progress relationship. Sometimes, it doesn't even seem like they are dating. Their dates consist of studying at Yahaba's or practicing late, they went to a movie once and Yahaba was gifted with the sight of Kyoutani actually laughing. It's slow going, Kyoutani's not too affectionate, but whenever he loses his cool and snaps, he'll make amends by holding hands and mumbling an apology against Yahaba's shoulder.

But this is something different, Yahaba's entered a sacred place, kind of anyways, and Kyoutani's been caught unprepared. He sees his mistake now.

Kyoutani's eyes drift from Yahaba and down to the paperclipped stack of notes and assignments he's holding. Slowly, Kyoutani slips off his gardening gloves, revealing bandaid covered fingers. He takes the offered papers and flips through them before nodding, his brusque version of a thank you. He hands off the stack to his sister, who's been standing with them the entire time, and she runs off with it.

Yahaba knows he should go, they'll have to talk later, and Yahaba will probably apologize. But he also doesn't want to leave.

It's strange to see, though there's still a tight thrumming caution running its course in Kyoutani's body, the boy looks more at ease than Yahaba's ever seen. And sure, he looks at home slamming down a spike, and he looks comfortable when he reads over Yahaba's shoulder or falls asleep on Yahaba's couch, but it's not the same. Kyoutani is calm now, here in his home and surrounded by plants.

And that's the part that sticks with Yahaba.

The very thought that Kyoutani had even a fondness for flowers, would have seemed absurd before Yahaba came inside. It seems strange, rough and tumble Kyoutani dealing with such a delicate form of life, and being good at it to. He's never mentioned it before, never even hinted that he liked plants.

"I didn't know you had such a green thumb," he blurts out, immediately regretting it as Kyoutani's expression darkens.

"What's your point?" He's on the defensive, clearly expecting Yahaba to ridicule him for his interests. Yahaba won't, and frankly, he's a little offended that Kyoutani would think so.

"I'm not trying- it's cool, it's something I didn't expect," he says.

Kyoutani's eyes narrow, like he's trying to figure out if Yahaba is being serious.

"Can I see them? The flowers?" Yahaba asks, pointing to the planter that Kyoutani had just been working with.

Maybe he's pushing his boundaries, maybe he should give Kyoutani some breathing space, but he wants to show his prickly boyfriend that he doesn't find it strange, or tease worthy.

"Ken! Aunty's going to be here in ten minutes, is your friend with the weird hair staying for dinner?"

Kyoutani's little sister comes running back into the family room, a new book under her arm, and strolls right up to her brother. She puts up her arms and Kyoutani picks her up without hesitating.

"Can he stay? He has weird hair, and you never have friends over," she pouts.

"Ah, that sounds nice, but I actually have to go," Yahaba cuts in, seeing Kyoutani's hesitance to answer. The other boy nods quickly and Yahaba only plasters on a smile.

The flowers will have to wait.

Kyoutani sets his sister down and jerks his head towards the door, brushing past Yahaba as he moves. His sister disappears down the hall, casting a toothy grin over her shoulder.

Yahaba steps past the doorway and Kyoutani follows him outside. He's on guard, out of the safety and comfort of his home.

"I'm not going to say anything," Yahaba says quickly, "not if you don't want me to."

"Thanks," Kyoutani mumbles, not meeting Yahaba's eyes.

"I'll see you at school then?"

"Yes."

Yahaba takes a chance and reaches for Kyoutani's hand, squeezing it quickly. Kyoutani squeezes back, faintly, still keeping his gaze fixed on the ground. The plant thing isn't a big deal, not really, but it seems to be for Kyoutani, so Yahaba will let it go.

Kyoutani comes back to school, all his work done, bandaids missing from his fingers. The little cuts are just that, little, but angry and red and numerous. Yahaba would be worried if he didn't know that they were from the plants.

During practice, Kyoutani seems more reserved, he doesn't knock anyone over, but he's no less tense. Yahaba catches Iwaizumi and Oikawa sharing side long glances, like they're waiting for the ball to drop.

After practice, Yahaba convinces Kyoutani to come home with him, really, he just gestures towards the gym doors, but Kyoutani comes along regardless. Yahaba won't talk about the plants, best not to make them a bigger deal than they are, in Kyoutani's mind anyways.

They don't do much; homework, done in amiable silence, Kyoutani even uses Yahaba's lap as pillow when they decide to do some reading. Some time later, Kyoutani gets a phone call from his aunt and has to go.

He stands, collects his things, and Yahaba walks him to the door. Kyoutani takes five steps out before he rushes back, kisses Yahaba with his eyes closed, then breaks into a dead sprint.

They don't talk about the plants, Kyoutani shuts down any and all of Yahaba's attempts, and they've not gone back to Kyoutani's house. It seems he's resolved to let the topic die.

But Yahaba has a feeling it's going to change, some time.

* * *

The change comes two weeks later, the day after a practice in which Yahaba gets knocked to the ground by an overenthusiastic Kyoutani. Iwaizumi had pulled the boy aside to lecture him about his behavior while Oikawa helped Yahaba to his feet.

They'd not walked together that day, Kyoutani all but ran out the door the second practice was over.

However, in the locker room the next day, there's a small bundle of flowers inside Yahaba's locker. There's no note, no explanation, just flowers tied with a simple green ribbon.

Yahaba leaves the flowers where they are, makes sure that his teammates don't see them because he'd never hear the end of it otherwise.

He's apprehensive about being on the court again, but he doesn't get knocked over at all. Kyoutani is off with Iwaizumi, learning how to better control his powerful spikes. Yahaba finds himself watching the two work. His mind wanders to the flowers in his locker, and he catches Kyoutani looking over at him.

An apology for knocking him over?

It's something they've talked about, Kyoutani gets defensive, says he'll try but he can't help it. It pisses Yahaba off sometimes, but if there's anything endearing about Kyoutani it's that he's honest in his endeavours.

So if he says he's trying, then Yahaba will do his best to believe him.

After practice, Yahaba changes slowly, waiting until the locker room is empty. Iwaizumi's staying late with Oikawa but everyone else is on their way out. He manages to make it outside, keeping the flowers out of view, and breathes a sigh of relief.

He's not taken two steps before a rough hand takes his without warning. Yahaba's prepared to fight whoever it is before realizing that it's Kyoutani. The boy has his head bowed, free hand jammed into his pocket while the hand holding Yahaba's is fidgeting slightly.

"Hey," Yahaba says quietly. His response is a quiet murmur.

They walk and Yahaba doesn't question it when Kyoutani takes the lead, heading for his house. Yahaba's parents are out on business anyways, it's not like he has to be home any time soon.

"Is your sister gonna be home? She's not gonna say my hair is weird again is she?" Has she seen her brother's hair? She has no reason to be going after Yahaba.

"At a friend's, my Aunt's out to," Kyoutani mumbles. Yahaba doesn't bother wondering about why Kyoutani lives with his aunt and not his parents. They've got enough to deal with at the moment.

Kyoutani fumbles with his keys but manages to get the door open without too much trouble. He ushers Yahaba inside first and drops his things by the door once they're both situated.

Yahaba takes his time looking at all the plants this go around, trying to identify all the green and bursts of color around him.

"They're beautiful," he says without thinking.

Kyoutani scowls but takes Yahaba's hand again, guides him to the couch and sits down. Yahaba's not sure if he should say something, or wait for Kyoutani to speak first. Sometimes it's awkward between them, stiff; Yahaba's not sure how to handle things and Kyoutani isn't very good at expressing himself.

Especially to Yahaba.

"I wish you would have told me this sooner," Yahaba says, looking around again.

"Why?"

"It's a unique talent, I've never seen something like this outside of a greenhouse. Besides, I would have requested flowers from you as a courting gesture."

He grins good naturedly, doing his best to ease the tension out of the air. To his surprise, Kyoutani lets out a sharp chuckle, more of an amused snort, but it makes Yahaba smile.

"So," Yahaba settles himself against Kyoutani, taking one of his hands and squeezing gently, "tell me about them."


	2. Day Three: Sports Swap - Kiss it Better

Despite my love of sparring, it's really hard to write a sparring match, so I tried for short and sweet with that bit.

Day Three - Sports Swap

* * *

Any other day, Yahaba would let him be stupid. It's likely a pulled muscle, but he doesn't remember Kyoutani limping at the competition.

* * *

Yahaba watches from against the wall as everyone leaves. Iwaizumi is supporting most of Oikawa's weight, their captain can't even smile without wincing. Matsukawa and Hanamaki haven't spoken a word since they arrived back, not even to each other. Kunimi seems no different but the grip he has on Kindaichi's hand makes Yahaba wince.

Watari pauses at the door, a silent question for Yahaba. Usually they walk home together, but not tonight. Yahaba shakes his head and watches his friend leave before he turns around.

Kyoutani is sitting on the ground near his gear bag. He'd been stretching a few minutes ago, but now he's just staring at the floor like it it did something to personally offend him. He's not bothering to hide his anger, Kyoutani isn't one for suffering in silence, he's let them all know that on numerous occasions.

With a quiet sigh, Yahaba makes his way across the room, stopping a few footsteps from Kyoutani.

"Wanna spar?"

"Why?" Kyoutani snaps. At least he's speaking. On the bus ride back, he'd not said a word, not even a sound. Iwaizumi couldn't even get him to say anything.

Neither could Yahaba

"Because you look like shit."

Kyoutani, honest to god, growls at him before huffing and digging around in his gear bag. Yahaba hasn't been growled at in some time, not really since Kyoutani's first few months on the team. He thought they were past this.

"No head shots," Yahaba says, unzipping his own bag. Years of practice allows them to get their sparring gear on in less than two minutes.

"Then no chest guards."

Kyoutani likes headshots, his spin kicks are ridiculously accurate; he's ended matches with a single kick before. Yahaba has faith in his own ability, but he really doesn't fancy getting knocked out. But he can handle sparring without a chest guard. He'll likely end up with a bruised torso, but they both know how to control their kicks well enough that he's not worried. It was a little difficult though, the first time Kyoutani saw the bruises peppering Yahaba's skin; he'd refused to spar him for a whole week.

Until Yahaba kicked him in the chest and knocked him down.

Without the chest and head guards, their only gear is for their arms and legs, Yahaba doesn't like the feet guards and Kyoutani's gloves might as well be a fashion statement, and they're ready sooner than expected.

They've already stretched but Yahaba takes a moment to touch his toes and swing his arms, just to be safe. Kyoutani's already bouncing on the balls of his feet, clenching and unclenching his fists before bringing them up. He may be loose when he spars but he's not stupid enough to have bad form. Everyone keeps their hands up, doesn't matter if they're just hanging there, they know better. Kyoutani's never been one for the formality of bowing and shaking hands but Yahaba does the former anyways before taking up his own sparring stance.

It's easy to see a difference, even if they're just waiting to start. Yahaba's stance is light, but still the perfect picture of proper posture, angles and distance apart like he's a diagram silhouette. Kyoutani on the other hand, barely qualifies for having a proper stance. His body is way too lax, his stance hardly balanced as he bounces. He hunches his shoulders forward and arches his back just the slightest bit. Somehow though, he can fight comfortably, and he's quick. Yahaba never expected his speed the first time they sparred.

Impatient, Kyoutani acts first, slide stepping forward to kick with his front leg. Yahaba jumps back, off to the side, then darts back in, prepping a kick to Kyoutani's chest. Instead of dodging, Kyoutani blocks with his right hand, the motion lax like it's just an afterthought. Yahaba hop steps back a little and goes for a hook kick to Kyoutani's side. It just barely grazes the other boy, and Yahaba's already going back in for a round house.

They trade kicks back and forth, Kyoutani manages to spin kick Yahaba in the chest, and Yahaba returns the favor with a side kick. But then Kyoutani's leg shudders when he lands a double round house. Yahaba's ready to ignore it, call it a fluke, but then it happens again when Kyoutani moves to avoid a back kick. Kyoutani keeps moving, though, ignoring it.

Any other day, Yahaba would let him be stupid. It's likely a pulled muscle, but he doesn't remember Kyoutani limping at the competition. So it's likely he didn't stretch well enough before their personal match, and that's why his left leg is locking up.

But then it happens two more times. Yahaba draws in his fighting stance, silently ending the match, despite Kyoutani's furious expression.

"You giving up?" he asks.

"What did you do to your leg?"

"Nothing."

"It's buckling."

" I didn't do anything to it."

Yahaba takes off his gloves and throws them in the direction of his gear bag.

"Thigh, knee, shin, or ankle?"

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Where does it hurt?"

Kyoutani finally resumes a comfortable stance, slipping off his own gloves. He doesn't look very happy, but that's pretty normal when a sparring match doesn't go as planned.

"It's fine, it doesn't hurt that much."

"Don't be an idiot, it could be serious. And I know you lie about pain."

Oikawa had pushed past his own minor injury and now he can't even spar without a brace strapped to his leg. And while Kyoutani isn't to that point, he's certainly that stupid. And a torn muscle can be aggravated as easily as a knee cap. Not to mention Yahaba doesn't want to deal with the same strain Iwaizumi goes through every time Oikawa's unable to walk.

"It's not serious, and I don't like about my pain."

"Yes you do."

Kyoutani huffs and drops to the floor where he is, peeling off his arm guards. Yahaba joins him on the floor as he starts on his shin guards. Beneath his left guard is a mottled bruise, massive and spanning the length of this shin. Yahaba sucks in a breath; Kyoutani's had some bad bruises in the past, all of which he's taken care of, but none of them have been this bad.

Kyoutani folds his pant leg up properly, so it sits at his knee, and from there he pulls it back.

"Is it just the bruise?"

In response, Kyoutani stretches his leg out before bending it in so Yahaba can see behind his knee. It's not quite a bruise, but the skin is aggravated and discolored.

"What the hell happened?"

"Some asshole used their elbow to block one a' my spin kicks, caught the back of my knee."

"And your shin?"

"Same asshole, he had harder guards, liked to block with his legs."

Kyoutani sounds very bitter, but his hands are clenched. Yahaba's managed to figure out a few tells as to when Kyoutani's in pain. This just happens to be one of them. The others include being snippier than usual, bouncing his leg, or nearly crushing Yahaba's fingers when they hold hands.

"I have some Ibuprofen in my bag, hang on a sec."

Waving off Kyoutani's protest, Yahaba jumps up and heads over to his bag.

The repetitive blocking, especially in such a tender area, could certainly cause some sort of internal bruising. It's also likely that he has ruptured blood vessels. The bruising on his shin is worrisome, incredibly so. But it's not debilitating. If there's one thing Kyoutani can do perfectly, it's power through his own pain, not like that's a good trait to have or anything. But it is useful in his matches.

It just comes back to bite him later.

The bottle of painkillers is about half empty, and his water bottle is bone dry, but he shakes out two pills and brings them back to Kyoutani. Yahaba watches him swallow the pills, grimacing as he does so. Rejoining him on the floor, Yahaba gestures for Kyoutani to move closer. They've done this enough times that Kyoutani isn't so hesitant to comply.

"You need to work on backing off more," Yahaba says as he lifts Kyoutani's leg into his lap.

"What?"

"When people kick at you, you stay where you are. If you back up more you won't get bruises like this."

"That's a stupid reason," Kyoutani grumbles, hissing slightly as Yahaba starts prodding around his bruise. He twitches, nearly jerking his leg away, but Yahaba clamps his free hand around Kyoutani's ankle to keep him in place.

"I'm just checking it out, calm down," Yahaba says. This is nothing new, but Kyoutani always acts as if Yahaba's about to conduct surgery on him.

"Kinda hard to do that when it hurts."

"Deal with it. You're supposed to be Mr. Tough Guy."

Kyoutani just huffs, tipping his head back, gritting his teeth. By the time Yahaba's satisfied that nothing's horribly wrong, Kyoutani's gone lax. The pain killers probably only took the edge off, his pain threshold is ridiculous.

"You'll be fine, ice your leg when you get home," Yahaba says, unable to resist bending forward to press a kiss to Kyoutani's leg. Grumbling, Kyoutani moves his leg, letting Yahaba stand up, but he doesn't say anything.

"Right," Kyoutani rolls down his pant leg, accepting Yahaba's hand to pull him up. He stumbles a little but gets his balance back when Yahaba takes his other hand and stabilizes him. Once he's stable, Kyoutani lets go, resting most of his weight on his right leg, gently testing his left leg. Slowly, they move back towards their bags.

"Do you think you'll be okay for practice tomorrow?" Yahaba asks, sliding off the rest of his guards. Kyoutani follows suit, throwing his gear in his bag without bothering to organize them.

"I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Yahaba watches, only partially amused as Kyoutani levers himself to stand up, wobbling when he puts his gear bag over his shoulder. However, it's a little pitiful, and Yahaba almost feels bad. He jumps up, picking up his own gear bag. He jogs the short ways to catch up with Kyoutani.

"Give me your bag."

"No-"

Yahaba takes the bag anyways, it's not ridiculously heavy, and slips it over his shoulder.

"I'm going to walk you home, no arguments, because you're off balance holding your bag."

"I can walk by myself Yahaba, I don't-"

"I said 'no arguments'. Besides, you can pretend that the reason you're holding my hand is to keep you balanced."

* * *

Fun fact, Kyoutani's bruising is based off my own from a really shitty sparring match, in which our referee apparently didn't adhere to the proper blocking rules. The bruising stayed though, like, my shin is still all multicolored. But whatever, it's not like I'm bitter or anything.


	3. Day Four: Fighting - Making Progress

Nothing like a little emotional miscommunication to start the day.

Day Four - Fighting

* * *

It's a two way street, and they both need to do better.

* * *

"Kentarou."

The boy in question stiffens, shoulders tense as he stops walking. Yahaba think it's apprehension before Kyoutani turns around, murder in his eyes.

"What?" he snarls.

"I'm not letting you walk off before we've settled this!"

"What is there to settle?"

"Everything!"

Kyoutani looks like he wants to fight, and Yahaba almost wants to indulge him. But not today.

They both stay still, Kyoutani's stubborn but Yahaba is patient with matters like these. They both have their pride, and it's not like they don't love each other. They do. It's because they clash. Kyoutani's horrible at talking and accepting affection, while Yahaba can't admit when he's in the wrong.

So it's a two way street, and they both need to work better at being a couple.

Kyoutani breaks first, he huffs and crosses his arms. They have a system for making up, a structured verbal dialogue. It was a collaborative effort that took about a month to be effective.

"Last night," he begins, "When we were walking home."

"I tried to hold your hand," Yahaba supplies.

"And when we got home."

"We went to bed."

With last night's scene set, Yahaba takes a minute to think. It's five in the morning so he's a little slower than usual. Kyoutani had snapped at him, which usually indicates that Yahaba did something, and vice versa. But, for the life of him, Yahaba can't figure out what he did to upset Kyoutani.

"You're going to have to tell me," he says at last.

He's not expecting Kyoutani to look so troubled, not expecting him to draw in such a shaky breath in preparation.

"Forget it. It's a stupid reason to be upset," he mutters.

"No, I'm not letting you cop out like that. Tell me."

Kyoutani fidgets and Yahaba tries to think again. He still wants Kyoutani to tell him but it's almost painful to watch him how he is.

They'd been walking home late, Yahaba tried to hold Kyoutani's hand but the other had shaken him off. That wasn't totally unusual. Kyoutani doesn't like being affectionate in public, Yahaba tries small things anyways. They've held hands four or five times maybe, and Yahaba's betting the issue with open affection has something to with Kyoutani's father.

Regardless, they'd gotten home. Yahaba had been exhausted and had gone straight to bed. Then, when their alarm went off at four forty like it always does on Monday mornings, he'd given Kyoutani a sleepy kiss. He'd shut off the alarm and gotten in the shower, still drowsy. Usually, after he showers, he lets Kyoutani dry and brush his hair, it's something of a simple bonding activity for them, still loving and tender but lacking the emotional capacity that Kyoutani seems to struggle with. He'd been too out of it to bother asking though. When he'd finished his hair, he'd joined Kyoutani in the kitchen and hugged him from behind.

That's when Kyoutani snapped, bringing them to their current situation.

Maybe that was it.

Cautiously, Yahaba takes a few steps closer. He decides against touching Kyoutani; that's what the problem is after all.

"So, I tried to hold your hand in public, but didn't say goodnight or kiss you when we got home like I usually do when we go to bed. Then, I kissed you in the morning but I did my hair, which is your job on weekdays. But I hugged you afterwards. That's the problem, right?"

"I told you it was stupid," Kyoutani mumbles.

And maybe he's a little right. If it were anyone else, of course. But it's not. It's Kyoutani. Kyoutani, who is still inconsistent with his own affection, relies on Yahaba's love as a constant. Kyoutani, who's still unsure of himself when it comes to dating, follows Yahaba's lead. And, while it's a little juvenile, it's not stupid.

"It's not," Yahaba says, making a split second decision to pull Kyoutani into a tight hug. " I love you, you know that?"

He forces the words out before his own cowardice locks them away.

"Just because I don't kiss you goodnight doesn't mean I don't love you."

Kyoutani squirms, pulls back, and stares. After a moment, he drops his gaze to the floor and takes Yahaba's hands in his.

"Whatever."

Yahaba takes that as a good sign, and he smiles.

"Okay, so what I'm hearing is that I should make up for that goodnight kiss, right?"

Kyoutani does look up then, eyes wide and cheeks red.

"What- no!"

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

But still, Kyoutani doesn't let go of his hands.


End file.
